McMillan urges team to forget defeat quickly

DUNDALK striker David McMillan says his side ‘can’t have too many complaints’ about their defeat in Cork last weekend but must put it behind them for Friday night’s Louth derby clash with neighbours Drogheda Utd at Oriel Park.

The 28-year-old came off the bench in the second half to score his first goal of the season after a frustrating spell out injured with a knee problem that saw him miss pre-season.

While he admitted it was ‘too little, too late’ he is hopeful the strike can help him get back to the sort of form that saw him score 21 goals in all competitions last season.

‘It has been frustrating,’ he said of his experience so far this season.

‘It was a tough pre-season for me trying to get over the knee thing. Thankfully now I’m back and I feel sharp. Obviously with Ciaran (Kilduff) suspended next week that puts me in the frame to start. It’ll be between myself and Tommy (Stewart) and the opportunities will come quickly so you have to be ready when they do come. I’ll just put in another good week’s training and if I play on Friday I’ll do my best and try to get on the scoresheet again.’

McMillan is aware his side will need to be better than they were against Cork though.

‘It’s not that we played particularly poorly but we’ve been sloppy at the back and we’ve been punished.

‘We’re disappointed obviously because it’s difficult to come back from 2-0 down. We threw it at them and got one back but unfortunately with Ciaran’s sending off as well, it didn’t help.

‘It just didn’t go with us. We can’t really make excuses. We weren’t good enough and didn’t create enough chances. We were beaten and can’t have too many complaints.’

The striker says no one should be writing Dundalk off just yet.

‘I wouldn’t read too much into it too quickly,’ he said of Saturday’s result.

‘We are six points behind but there’s a long way to go. There’s 27 games left and there’s a lot still to play for.

‘We’ve a game now next week to try and get back to winning ways. We’ve had a tough start in fairness with a lot of away trips against the top sides. If we can go on a bit of a run then who knows where we’ll be but all we can concentrate on now is trying to win games and that starts next Friday against Drogheda.’

While the return of the Louth derby excites McMillan, he says Friday is a win at all costs exercise for Dundalk.

‘It doesn’t matter who it is, we need to go and bounce back and get three points. That’s easier said than done, of course.

‘Drogheda have had a decent start. I’ve played under Pete Mahon in the past and I know what he’s like. He’s a very good manager and he’ll have them well drilled and well set up for the game on Friday.

‘It’s a great fixture to look forward to. Obviously Drogheda were out of the league last year and I’m sure that made a lot of Dundalk fans happy but it’s a game you do look forward to playing in. It’ll be a good occasion and hopefully now we’ll get good support behind us and go and get the three points,’ he said.